# Common Infrared Countermeasures (CIRCM) — Program Element 0605035A

**Program element:** 0605035A  
**Component:** U.S. Army  
**Appropriation:** 2040 — RDT&E, Army  
**Budget Activity:** 5 — System Development & Demonstration  
**Vintage:** President's Budget PB2027  
**Canonical URL:** https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605035A

## Summary

U.S. Army requests $11.6M in FY2027 (down from a FY2026 peak), sustained across the five-year plan. In the FY2027 defense authorization, the House funded it in full; the Senate funded it in full; House appropriators funded it in full.

## Funding profile

| Fiscal Year | Estimate Type | Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | Actual | 11.3 |
| FY2026 | Enacted | 12.8 |
| FY2027 | Request | 11.6 |
| FY2028 | Outyear | 11.8 |
| FY2029 | Outyear | 11.9 |
| FY2030 | Outyear | 11.8 |
| FY2031 | Outyear | 12.0 |

> Estimate types are not summed — the profile mixes actuals, enacted law, the request, and outyear projections.

## Congressional marks (FY2027)

| Stage | Marked ($M) | Change ($M) |
|---|---|---|
| Request | 11.6 | — |
| House NDAA (HASC) | 11.6 | +0.0 |
| Senate NDAA (SASC) | 11.6 | +0.0 |
| House Approps (HAC-D) | 11.6 | +0.0 |

> FY2027 NDAA authorization marks, as of 2026-07-27. Not appropriations or final law.

## Projects (1)

| Project | Title | FY2025 actual | FY2026 enacted | FY2027 request | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EB4 | CIRCM | 11.3 | 12.8 | 11.6 | −10% |

> Projects are the summable leaves: the program element total is their sum, never added to it.

### Project EB4 — CIRCM

The Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) budget line funding supports continuing A-Kit development, model-based systems engineering, and integration activities for rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft. CIRCM (EB4) CIRCM is the next generation lightweight, laser-based Infrared Countermeasure (IRCM) component that interfaces with the Army's Common Missile Warning System (CMWS), Limited Interim Missile Warning System (LIMWS), Advanced Threat Warner (ATW), and future Improved Threat Detection System (ITDS) system to defeat current and emerging missile threats that use multispectral technology for rotary-wing, tilt-rotor and small fixed-wing aircraft across the Department of War (DoW). CIRCM receives an angular bearing hand-off from the Missile Warning System (MWS), employs a pointing and tracking system which acquires the handed-over threat and tracks the incoming missile during and after motor burnout. CIRCM jams the missile by using modulated laser energy in the missile seeker band, thus degrading the tracking capability of the missile and causing it to miss the aircraft. CIRCM is utilizing Open Systems Architecture which allows flexibility with software and hardware refreshes. Tech insertions, when coupled with future threat acquisition and integration, will ensure CIRCM performance to keep pace with future threats. CIRCM is part of the suite of Aircraft Survivability Equipment (ASE) Mission Equipment for Multi-Mission Vertical Takeoff (MV)-75 Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). The CIRCM A-Kit includes mounting hardware, wiring harnesses, and other components necessary to install and interface the mission kit on host aircraft. The A-Kit ensures the mission kit is functionally and physically operational with a specific host aircraft type. The CIRCM B-Kit is the mission kit (laser, pointer tracker, and processor) required to achieve near spherical coverage for an aircraft. Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation (RDTE) funding in the amount of $11.573 million will fund A-Kit development, integration and test activities on multi-variant platforms, acquiring additional B-Kit test Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) to support development / testing activities, as well as threat and vulnerability analysis.

| Activity (R-2A) | FY2025 | FY2026 | FY2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CIRCM Product Development | 5.8 | 5.7 | 6.1 |
| CIRCM Test & Evaluation (T&E) | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.5 |

> R-2A activities carry the prior, current and budget year only — no five-year plan. Coverage is partial, so count them, never total them.

## Where the FY2027 request goes

| Category | Share | $M |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unspecified | 100% | 11.6 |

> R-3 exhibit contract funding, not USAspending obligations.

## Mission & acquisition strategy

The Common Infrared Countermeasure (CIRCM) budget line funding supports continuing A-Kit development, model-based systems engineering, and integration activities for rotary wing and fixed wing aircraft. CIRCM (EB4) CIRCM is the next generation lightweight, laser-based Infrared Countermeasure (IRCM) component that interfaces with the Army's Common Missile Warning System (CMWS), Limited Interim Missile Warning System (LIMWS), Advanced Threat Warner (ATW), and future Improved Threat Detection System (ITDS) system to defeat current and emerging missile threats that use multispectral technology for rotary-wing, tilt-rotor and small fixed-wing aircraft across the Department of War (DoW).

A Full Rate Production (FRP) Decision was approved April 13, 2021, and a five-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract was awarded to Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (NGSC) on April 30, 2021 for up to 596 B-Kits with options for Engineering Services, Repairs, and Contractor Logistics Support services. On July 2022, Headquarters Department of the Army (HQDA) published Executive Order (EXORD) 166-22 in support of Army Aviation Regionally Aligned Readiness and Modernization Model, Fielding, Modernization, and Reset (ReARMM), which increased the 1x Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB) per year requirement to upwards of 4x CABs per year. The program met the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) threshold date of September 2022.

## Related program elements

- [0605051A — Aircraft Survivability Development](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0605051A) (Army)
- [0305220F — RQ-4 UAV](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0305220F) (Air Force)
- [0303133F — High Frequency Radio Systems](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0303133F) (Air Force)
- [0603627A — Smoke, Obscurant and Target Defeating Sys-Adv Dev](https://hitchintel.com/programs/0603627A) (Army)

## Source & machine access

- **Source:** FY2027 Department of the Army RDT&E Budget Justification, Exhibits R-2/R-3, PE 0605035A (PB PB2027); FY2027 NDAA committee marks (as of 2026-07-27).
- **MCP:** `mcp.hitchintel.com` — `budget_get_program_element(pe="0605035A")`.

*HitchAI is an independent intelligence service, not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Defense. Budget figures are requests/estimates, not obligations.*